Iced Hockey

It's hard to beat a well-played hockey game. Hockey does not lend itself to television, but in person it offers not only tension and thrills but beauty and grace. According to a joke, a fan went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out. The conclusion to this editorial will elaborate on the point.

The 1980 Olympic semi-final game between the USSR and the United States rates as the most vivid in the nation's collective memory. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! A chant was born.

When we started attending hockey games, many goalies did not wear masks. Few players wore helmets. The National Hockey League had six teams, which operated in cities accustomed to snow. Now the league boasts teams in Florida and Arizona. The Los Angeles Kings were one of the first franchises in the Sun Belt. The owner explained that he decided to buy the team after he learned Southern California had the largest number of native-born Canadians outside the home country. While looking at an arena filled with empty seats, he later lamented that the Canadians had emigrated because they hated hockey.

We rooted for the Blackhawks of Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Eric Nesterenko, and Pierre Pilote. Other favorites included Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Plante, the Espositos (Tony and Phil), Ed Giacomin, Rod Gilbert, and Yvan Cournoyer. Wayne Gretzky was the second-best player we have seen; Bobby Orr was the tops, in part because he remade the game. We enjoyed playing those hockey games with toy players on slides, until we retired in humiliation after losing to our brother and a guy from Boston.

The Richmond Renegades appear to be on their last legs -- or skates, to be precise. This looks like the team's final year. Their loyal fans will miss them. Their disappearance, however, would say little of value regarding Richmond and its environs. Central Virginia does not lie in hockey's heartland, after all, and the Washington Capitals (with Alex Ovechkin) can be reached in two hours or so. Moreover, the difference between hockey in the major and minor leagues is far greater than the distance among baseball's levels. Our favorite alternative to the Stanley Cup is the Bean Pot. Go Harvard!

For the sake of local fans, we hope Richmond continues to field a team. Our personal position regarding Richmond's circumstances can be inferred from our profound opinion that although they feature hard checks, the best hockey games lack fights.